People have painted since there
have been people. Painting materials have changed, but the process of creating a
physical representation of the things that people see, have seen, or want to
see, has persisted.

Although I also paint from real
life whenever I can, many of the paintings that I make are derived from images
that I have either seen or dreamt. The way the bits and pieces of the images are
applied and organized on the canvas is done in the manner that seems best to me
as I explore my ideas, and as the painting develops.

Every successful painting acquires
an identity of its own, hopefully at a very early stage. My efforts from that
point forward are involved with refining the colors and placements that
contribute to this emerging "presence". I add elements that increase the
presence of the painting, and I remove elements that detract. One must be very
humble during this process because the magic can be lost very quickly, usually
by painting too poorly, but sometimes by painting too well. Renoir is a great
example of using the methods that fit the subject. Although he was an excellent
draftsman, his most successful paintings were created using fuzzy lines and
marks that look like they were made with crayons. Yet, in these seemingly
unsophisticated paintings, the images have a life and presence that
photo-realistic art does not convey. Understanding which colors belong, and
which ones don't, is not easy, and only occurs through diligent, concerted
examination of the emerging personality of the painting.

Some paintings flash into
existence and then die away no matter how hard you try to save them. Others
proceed smoothly and directly to completion. Recently, I have been taking photos
of some of the paintings as they developed. You can find
examplesfor
Angel in Red and
Alexander the Great.
As I watch those pictures in retrospect, I can see some paintings coming alive
and then dying, or taking on a new form entirely. Sometimes, when I look at the
pictures, I wish I had stopped at some of the stages. I suppose I could copy
that stage and proceed from there. Is that an idea? Multiple forks taken?

It is vitally important to paint
honestly, keeping the integrity of the painting as a whole constantly in mind.
Then, if all goes well, you can finish that painting and begin another one. A
new one is started because painting is an adventure in its creation as well as
in its appreciation. It is an adventure that I have enjoyed as a painter and as
a viewer for many years and, I hope, for many more to come.

Gene Gould

Click below to witness the process followed by Gene Gould when creating
some of his paintings: